While looking back at memories when I lost my mother as a child, I remember fragments here and there that I’ve spent practically the last 30 years trying to piece together. One memory I have is her reading the biography, “Diana: Her True Story.” She loved and respected Princess Diana and I remember her reading this book often in our living room. Little did I know that for that particular memory, it planted a seed that would grow into something bigger after my mother died and after Princess Diana died, and as I grew up.
My mother died in 1993. I was only nine years old. My brother was 12 years old. My mom was only 39. On that also sad and tragic day in August, August 31, 1997 to be exact, losing Princess Diana hit close to home. She was only 36 when she died. Prince Harry was 12 years old and Prince William was 15 years old. I remember how much Princess Diana meant to my mother, so losing Princess Diana felt like losing my mother all over again. They both lost their lives just four years apart. There was a deep connection I felt to both losses.
At the time of Princess Diana’s death and when the world around me seemed to have stopped again, I was just 13 years old. Don’t ask me what compelled me to do this, but I felt a deep connection to Prince Harry and Prince William. Did I ever meet them face to face? No. But here are two kids that just lost their mother like I did, and so I felt compelled as a 13 year old to reach out to them. I found a way to hand write them a letter and I wrote how sorry I was to hear of their mother’s passing. I shared that I too lost my mother during childhood and offered if they wanted to talk about how they were feeling that I was there to listen if they wanted to. I told them how much their mother meant to my mother and that I was sending them hugs from another country. I received a letter back, written by their staff of course, but again the memory of my mother reading her book made me feel like I just had to reach out in honor and on behalf of my late mother, as if my mother and Princess Diana were now friends in Heaven. And as if I was representing my late mother to send condolences to their late mother.
Fast forward to 2018, I wanted to again honor my mother and Princess Diana’s legacy, and so I wrote a guidebook for grieving children and families who are navigating the death of a parent during childhood. I shared about losing my mom and memories I had with her, and again wanted to honor Princess Diana and Prince Harry and Prince William, and included a section on the charity work they did in honor of their late mother.
Princess Diana was a wonderfully kind human being who liked to help others. She reminds me of my mother who was the same way. Perhaps we can always make room in our hearts for lost loved ones who left incredible legacies behind whether we directly knew them or not, not just on the days that we lost them, but all days in between as well so their legacies continue to live on for the generations to come.
Remembering and Honoring and Never Forgetting the Life and Legacies of Both
Kathy Arana July 9, 1954 - December 3, 1993❤️ &
Princess Diana July 1, 1961 - August 31, 1997❤️